30.7.18

Completely unrelated pic - I don't eat sugar and this is mostly about fashion, but still SO CUTE ^_^

Malls are something which we are not exactly short of in Bangkok. Sukhumvit road is lined up with super fancy super huge super glassy complexes which would take days to visit thoroughly. With so much variety, it's confusing to know where to go, but for us seasoned locals... It´s another story!

Disclaimer: I am not fond of street markets. I don't do counterfeit. I hate bargaining, not getting a chance to try on clothes and overall, I can't stand that feeling of being tricked - which I more often than not get on the street stalls where us whitetrash seem to appear like walking cash registers to some vendors. I give you one example, the Cult Gaia copycat original retails at 150USD, similar versions are sold at 25EUR in Chatuchak - very similar price to what you can find in Europe a friend told me... Similar experience I had with the Lanna style embroidered bag, which I ended up buying in Fuengirola (Málaga) for half the price one of the street vendors was asking #truestory.

Here come my favourite spots and brands in Bangkok (so far!) - this is for you, visiting this summer!

28.7.18

As someone without international data roaming in my work subscription, this is a post I've been thinking about for some time, just waiting to have a sufficiently large collection of used SIM cards to make the point, but somehow with the relocation to Thailand combined with the TOC habits of our cleaning lady, half of it got lost.

Considering 2017-2018 combined (so far), I've been to Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, Sweden and Germany (before EU roaming). In all these places, I bought a local pre-paid SIM card and you, as seasoned traveller should do too.

For us Europeans roaming within EU is pretty much a seamless event - just turn it on and don't go overboard on live video. What about those Asian friends coming to visit? Guys have hope - in general 10EUR will get you 1.5GB - much less than what you get back home, but at least something.

Jumping to the East side becomes another story, so I want drop some numbers here and make a strong point to buy a local SIM as soon as you land (in fact there are plenty of counters as soon as you exit the airport) to avoid nasty surprises. Advice inspired by a conversation to a fellow Aussie, who was paying 10AUD a day for less than 500MB roaming in India.2018 pricebook follows below, decreasing price per GB:

Japan: Find all details here, I hope it gets easier and cheaper for the Olympics, bit sad they are only sold at BIC Camera - in contrast with ASEAN countries and even Australia, where you can get it at the airport.

South Korea: Local tourist SIM at KT shop, 38500KRW roughly 30EUR for a SIM valid during 15 days. In the web it says data free, but last summer I was paying nearly 10EUR per 1GB data, cash and in-store top up.

Australia: 10AUD for 5GB valid during a week, various packs available here, comes with a cute little "yes" thing to open the SIM card place in your iPhone that I am keeping with me at all times, best branding ever.

23.7.18

English
Bangkok's streets can be a bit overwhelming - noise, cars, smells, rats, people, heat... You name it! But hey this is our lifestyle, take it or leave it. Here's a video where my favourite Thai brand so far, Hamburger Studio, illustrates our daily struggles in the concrete jungle - the taxi driver and the water under moving tiles on the street, boy they are just SO ACCURATE.

After a day of sightseeing the main temples - or the Golden Buddha in Chinatown - visiting another noisy-smelly market, may not be the most appealing thing to do. Which is where Yodipman (also known as Pak Khlong Thalat) comes in. Located just south of Wat Pho (the temple of reclining buddha), Bangkok's flower market is open 24x7 and ready to deliver a quick yet memorable experience of color, perfume and beauty.

Pending a visit to the Museum of Floral Culture I can just say that I have never seen a country where flowers are so ingrained, ubiquitous and central to daily life. Everywhere you go, there are stalls and people buying. I am not 100% what they do with them - just bring home? or to temples? large or mini-sized ones - like those you'll see in your hotel, mall and respectable office building.

I am a sucker for beauty and perfume, so of course a visit to this market was one of the highlights of my Thai life. I will continue to bring home flowers, think of a bunch of roses and a beautiful arrangement of delicately packed jasmine for less than 5EUR and to bring all my visitors to this magical place.